1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to the control of security mechanisms, such as, for example, malware scanners, Internet firewalls, email scanners etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Security threats to data processing systems are becoming increasingly common and increasingly potentially damaging. Accordingly, it is known to provide one or more security mechanisms for carrying out security actions within data processing systems. Examples of such security mechanisms are malware scanners, email scanners, internet firewalls and the like. To at least some extent these security mechanisms are reactive in the sense that as new security threats emerge these security mechanisms require configuration changes or updates in order to deal with the new security threats. As an example, when a new computer virus is discovered, this may be of a type which is not identified and can evade the existing computer virus scanners. These computer virus scanners need updating with an additional computer virus signature for the newly released computer virus before they can identify and counteract that new computer virus.
A trend within the field of security threats to data processing systems is that such threats to data processing systems can propagate and become serious at an increasingly rapid rate. As an example, computer virus writers may try to specifically design their computer viruses to spread rapidly such that they can cause significant damage before the providers of computer virus scanning programs can react and develop the appropriate necessary updated computer virus signature files and the data processing systems users download and install those new computer virus signatures. A modern mass mailer computer virus may propagate at such a rate that a significant and damaging world-wide outbreak of a computer virus can arise within a matter of a few tens of minutes after the computer virus is first released.
It is known to provide alert messaging to users in the form of emails to inform them of newly arising computer security threats. As an example, a computer virus scanner provider may provide a service for registered users whereby, if they so wish, they will receive notification emails when the computer virus scanner provider becomes aware of a new computer virus outbreak. The user upon reading this email notification can then decide what security measures they wish to take for their own system to deal with the newly arising threat.
A problem with the existing alerting mechanisms is that they require the user to open, read and act upon the alerting email message. This takes a finite amount of time that may be too long to forestall a damaging security breach. Furthermore, computer virus writers are aware of the issue of security counter measure response times and tend to release their computer viruses at times of day when they believe a large number of users will be out of office hours such that security counter measures will not be taken until the following day by which time significant damage will have been caused. Computer viruses may be released during the night-time of the target victim users or perhaps at the start of a holiday weekend for the target victim users.